Parking fee charging system and operating method thereof

ABSTRACT

A system and method for addressing roadside parking issues are provided. The method includes: determining whether a parking fee has been paid for an on-street parking space, and if not, activating a detector of the corresponding parking meter; determining whether an object exists in the parking space and whether the object, if existing, is a vehicle, and if yes to both, activating a camera of the parking meter to obtain an image of the parking space; determining again whether the object is a vehicle by performing image and license plate recognition, and if yes, either prompting a parking enforcement officer to go to the parking space and issue a parking ticket or issuing the parking ticket automatically; updating the parking meter after the parking ticket is issued; and reducing the detection frequency. The method is labor-saving and reduces power consumption by the parking meter.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a parking fee charging system composedof parking meters and to the operating method of the system.

2. Description of Related Art

Parking authorities and the related industry have made great efforts toaddress the issue of how to plan effective on-street parking spaces inurban areas, where space is at a premium, and inform the public of thestates of use of those parking spaces.

One typical example of the various systems designed to address theaforesaid issue is disclosed in Taiwan Invention Patent No. I333177,which provides a parking fee charging system that times the use ofparking spaces by means of long- and short-distance radio communicationand contactless cards. This patented system allows a local parkingmanagement station to communicate with the parking managementinformation center through a combination of long- and short-distanceradio communication networks.

While the '177 patent discloses integrating GPRS/GSM or other radiocommunication systems into the parking meters to facilitate the updateof transaction data or the transmission of information, the limitationsimposed by the size of the parking meter housing and by the fact thatthe parking meters are installed on the side of the road make itimpossible to construct a mains distribution network (e.g., anunderground one) for the parking meters wherever and whenever desired;in other words, the electricity required for the parking meters and forthe radio communication may have to come from batteries, rechargeable ornot, instead of the mains. If the system includes a large number ofparking meters, the labor cost and material cost incurred by replacingor recharging the batteries will be considerable.

A conventional off-street parking lot typically has induction loopsburied in the ground and is monitored by digital cameras around theclock in order to determine the time of arrival and departure of eachvehicle parked in the parking lot. Generally, an off-street parking lotis a closed plot of land with a fixed entrance and exit, is installedwith a mains distribution network that ensures sufficient power supply,and can therefore detect incoming and outgoing vehicles satisfactorily.

In an open on-street parking environment, however, the conventionaldetection equipment tends to produce inaccurate detection resultsbecause of the aforesaid limitations on power supply and environmentalor human interventions. For example, induction loops or ground detectorsmay have detection errors associated with the position of the vehiclebeing detected, are subject to interference from a passing metallicobject, and hence do not make an accurate detection system for parkedcars. Other detection methods such as infrared detection may be affectedby weather conditions or may consume too much power due to continuousoperation.

Furthermore, the parking fee of an off-street parking lot is generallycharged in the following manner: the timing of the parking period of avehicle starts when the vehicle enters the parking lot, and the parkingfee is calculated when the vehicle leaves the parking lot to concludethe parking period. On-street parking spaces, on the other hand, areopen spaces and therefore cannot use the foregoing charging scheme of anoff-street parking lot. The parking fee of an on-street parking space iseither paid in advance by the parking space user for a preselectedperiod or charged by a patrol, or parking enforcement officer, whoissues parking tickets. If, for any reason, the parking space user'svehicle fails to leave the parking space by the end of the preselectedperiod, the user will be given an overtime parking ticket, which notonly causes trouble to the user, but also requires the additional laborfor writing the ticket.

Accordingly, it is highly desirable to design a better parking feecharging system and method that can effectively detect whether a parkingspace is used and paid for, and can reduce the electricity consumed byparking meters as well as the labor required for patrolling and issuingparking tickets.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To solve the aforesaid problems of the prior art, the present inventionprovides a parking fee charging system that is applicable to a pluralityof on-street parking spaces. The parking fee charging system includes amanagement center, a plurality of parking meters, and at least onemobile device. Each parking meter is provided beside at least onecorresponding on-street parking space and is configured to detect theproperties and states of the object, if any, in the correspondingparking space and whether a parking fee has been paid for the object andto transmit parking information of the corresponding parking space tothe management center via a network. The mobile device is provided withan executable application program and is configured to transmit anexecution result of the application program to the management center viathe network. Once a user parks a vehicle in one of the parking spaces,operates the corresponding parking meter, and pays a parking feecorresponding to an estimated parking period, the corresponding parkingmeter displays an identification barcode corresponding to the parkinginformation of the parking space so that the user may use the mobiledevice to read the identification barcode and thereby obtain the parkinginformation. When the parking time limit of the parking meter inquestion is about to be reached, the management center transmits apayment notice to the user's mobile device via the network and, as soonas the required parking fee is paid, updates the parking information inthe parking meter via the network. Or, if the car has been parked longerthan the estimated parking period and the user has not paid for the nextparking period, the management center will identify the license plate ofthe vehicle automatically based on the detection result of the parkingmeter and then either prompt a parking enforcement officer to go to thevehicle and issue a parking ticket or issue the parking ticketautomatically.

Preferably, the parking fee charging system further includes a parkingticket issuing device configured for signal connection to the managementcenter via the network. When the parking time limit of one of theparking meters is exceeded, the management center is connected to theparking ticket issuing device via the network to prompt the parkingenforcement officer to go to that parking meter and issue a parkingticket for the overtime-parked vehicle through the parking ticketissuing device.

Preferably, the parking ticket issuing device transmits parking ticketissuance information to the management center after issuing a parkingticket, and in response to the parking ticket issuance information, themanagement center updates the parking information in the correspondingparking meter via the network.

Preferably, the parking ticket issuing device is also configured forsignal connection to the parking meters and can, after issuing a parkingticket, directly update the parking information in the correspondingparking meter.

Preferably, the management center includes an image processing unit forperforming vehicle and license plate recognition according to an imageuploaded from a parking meter.

Preferably, the management center further includes an automatic parkingticket issuing unit for issuing parking tickets automatically.

Preferably, the management center further includes a guiding unit forrecording the locations and states of the on-street parking spacesaccording to the state of each parking space as transmitted from thecorresponding parking meter.

Preferably, the mobile device can connect to the management centerthrough the application program and the network and display on a map thelocation and state of each on-street parking space according to therecord of the guiding unit.

Preferably, each of the parking meters includes: a housing; a controlcircuit provided in the housing; a display panel provided on the frontside of the housing and electrically connected to the control circuit;an operation panel provided on the front side of the housing and havinga plurality of operation buttons, each operation button beingelectrically connected to the control circuit so that the parking metercan be operated through the operation buttons; a chip card accessingdevice provided in the housing and electrically connected to the controlcircuit in order to access chip cards and thereby process fee paymentsmade through chip cards; at least one detector provided on the front orrear side of the housing or at one or two predetermined positions of thehousing, wherein the at least one detector is separately electricallyconnected to the control circuit in order to detect the state of thecorresponding on-street parking space; at least one camera provided onthe front side of the housing or at one or two predetermined positionsof the housing, wherein the at least one camera is electricallyconnected to the control circuit in order to take images of one or twoon-street parking spaces; a communication module provided in the housingand electrically connected to the control circuit in order tocommunicate with an external device; and a battery module provided inthe housing to provide the electricity required by the parking meter.

Preferably, the communication module of each parking meter includes asecurity access module.

Preferably, each parking meter further includes an artificialintelligence module for performing image and license plate recognitionon a detected object.

Preferably, the parking fee charging system further includes pluralpairs of auxiliary parking meters, each pair being respectivelyinstalled at two opposite end edges of the at least one parking spacecorresponding to a parking meter. Each auxiliary parking meter includesat least one camera and a transmission module.

Preferably, each pair of auxiliary parking meters and the correspondingparking meter work together to take images of the vehicle(s) in the atleast one corresponding parking space.

The present invention also provides the operating method of a parkingfee charging system, wherein the parking fee charging system uses atleast one parking meter to charge parking fees for at least oneon-street parking space. The operating method begins by determiningwhether a parking fee has been paid for the on-street parking space, andif not, the detector of the parking meter is activated. Then, accordingto the detection result of the detector, it is determined whether anobject exists in the on-street parking space and whether the object, ifexisting, is a vehicle. If both determination results are positive, thecamera of the parking meter is activated to take an image of theon-street parking space. Image and license plate recognition issubsequently performed to confirm whether the object in the on-streetparking space is a vehicle. If yes, either a parking enforcement officeris prompted to go to the on-street parking space to issue a parkingticket, or the parking ticket is issued automatically by a managementcenter. Once the parking ticket is issued, the parking meter is updated.Then, with the detection frequency of the detector reduced, the processflow returns to the step of determining whether a parking fee has beenpaid for the on-street parking space to complete a full cycle.

Preferably, the detection frequency of the detector is also reducedafter it is determined that a parking fee has been paid for theon-street parking space and before the subsequent steps are performed,and after it is determined that no object exists in the on-streetparking space or that the object in the on-street parking space is not avehicle and before the subsequent steps are performed, and after it isconfirmed by image and license plate recognition that the object in theon-street parking space is not a vehicle and before the subsequent stepsare performed.

Preferably, confirming whether the object in the on-street parking spaceis a vehicle is carried out by detecting the distance to, and the widthand material of, the object and determining whether the detectedproperties are similar to those of a vehicle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic circuit diagram of an embodiment of the parkingmeters in the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 schematically shows the placement of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is the flowchart of the operating method according to anembodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 5 schematically shows an embodiment of the parking fee chargingsystem of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Please refer to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 and FIG. 5 respectively for a schematiccircuit diagram, a schematic front view, and a schematic placementdiagram of an embodiment of the parking meters in the present inventionand a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the parking fee chargingsystem of the invention.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the parking meter 10 includes a housing100; a display panel 141 and an operation panel 143, both provided onthe front side of the housing 100; a chip card accessing device 145provided in the housing 100; a detector 161 provided on the front orrear side of the housing 100; one or two cameras 163 provided at apredetermined position, or respectively at two predetermined positions,of the housing 100; a communication module 18 provided in the housing100; a battery module 121 provided in the housing 100 to supply theelectricity required by the parking meter; and a control circuit 12electrically connected to the display panel 141, the operation panel143, the chip card accessing device 145, the detector 161, the one ortwo cameras 163, the communication module 18, and the battery module121. The detector 161 and the one or two cameras 163 may swap positionsin other feasible embodiments; for example, there may be one camera 163on the front side of the housing 100 and one or two detectors 161 at apredetermined position, or respectively at two predetermined positions,of the housing 100.

The operation panel 143 has a plurality of operation buttons separatelyelectrically connected to the control circuit 12 so that the parkingmeter 10 can be operated via the operation buttons. The operationbuttons may include a time selection button 101, a parking spaceselection button 105, and a confirmation button 103, in order for a userto select and confirm the desired parking period and parking space, andfor a parking fee to be calculated accordingly. There may be a singletime selection button 101 so that the selected parking period increasesaccording to number of times for which the button is pressed or touched.Or, there may be two time selection buttons for increasing anddecreasing the selected parking period respectively, and in that casethe desired parking period can be set by operating the increasing button101 and the decreasing button 101 as needed. Similarly, there may be oneor two parking space selection buttons 105: in the former case thedesired parking space can be selected by operating the single button forthe corresponding number of times, and in the latter case the desiredparking space can be specified by operating the corresponding buttondirectly. Please refer also to FIG. 3 for how the parking spaceselection button(s) 105 work. When the parking meter 10 is installed fortwo adjoining on-street parking spaces 321 and 323 as shown in FIG. 3,the parking space selection button(s) 105 can be operated to selecteither one of the on-street parking spaces 321 and 323. The operationbuttons are preferably touch control buttons, which help enhance thestrength and watertightness of the housing 100 by reducing the openingsand gaps in the housing.

The chip card accessing device 145 is provided in the housing 100 andpreferably in a lower portion of the interior of the housing 100, and achip card accessing area (represented by the sensing area 107 in FIG. 2)is provided at a corresponding position of the operation panel 143 sothat the chip card accessing device 145 can access a chip card (notshown) in order to charge a parking fee through the chip card.Preferably, the chip card accessing device 145 is of the contactlesstype to enable access to contactless chip cards. Applicable contactlesschip cards include contactless prepaid cards, contactless credit cards,contactless ATM/debit cards, contactless electronic purses, mobilephones with a near-field communication (NFC) payment function, and soon.

The detector 161 is electrically connected to the control circuit 12 andis configured to detect the states of the corresponding on-streetparking spaces. When provided on the front side of the housing 100, thedetector 161 can detect the two adjoining on-street parking spaces 321and 323 at the same time. If two detectors 161 (not shown) are providedon two lateral sides of the housing 100 respectively, each detector 161will be in charge of detecting the corresponding one of the on-streetparking spaces 321 and 323. That is to say, the states of the on-streetparking spaces 321 and 323 can be detected as long as the detector(s)161 are properly positioned. Preferably, the detector 161 is anultrasonic detector, a laser detector, or a millimeter-wavesuper-high-frequency detector. The aforesaid detectors can emitultrasonic signals, laser beam signals, or super-high-frequency signalsto detect whether an object exists in the on-street parking spaces 321and 323, as shown in FIG. 3. When an object is detected, the detector161 further performs high-precision detection of the distance to theobject and of the size and surface material of the object. If it isdetermined that the detected properties are similar to those of avehicle, the cameras 163 will be activated to take images of theon-street parking spaces 321 and 323, wherein the images are the basison which to determine whether the object is a vehicle and, if yes, toidentify the license plate of the vehicle.

The cameras 163, which may be provided on the front side of the housing100 or at a predetermined position, or respectively at two predeterminedpositions, of the housing 100, are connected to the control circuit 12and are configured to take images of the on-street parking spaces 321and 323 so that image recognition can be performed to confirm the statesof the on-street parking spaces 321 and 323. If the parking meter 10 isinstalled for a single on-street parking space, a properly set shootingangle ensures that satisfactory images of the on-street parking spacecan be obtained. Parking space images can be processed for license platerecognition either by the artificial intelligence module 165 in theparking meter 10 in FIG. 2 or by the image processing unit 528 in themanagement center 52 in FIG. 5. The artificial intelligence module 165or the image processing unit 528 will transmit the recognition result toan automatic parking ticket issuing unit 529 or allow the recognitionresult to be downloaded to a parking enforcement officer' portabledevice to facilitate the issuance of parking tickets. Preferably, thedetection angle of the detector 161 or the shooting angles of thecameras 163 can be adjusted in order to obtain information and images ofthe on-street parking spaces 321 and 323 with higher precision.

Preferably, the detector 161 uses a very low-power time-of-flight (ToF)or ultrasonic sensor for 24-hour detection of the states of thecorresponding parking spaces. This not only allows images to be taken ofthe vehicle(s) in the corresponding parking spaces as soon as thevehicle(s) enter the parking spaces, but also allows high-precisionimages of the parking spaces to be taken, making it easier to obtain andidentify license plate information.

Moreover, as a vehicle is not always parked at the same position in aparking space, the detection/shooting angles and fields of view of thedetector 161 and of the cameras 163 may not always ensure that licenseplate recognition can be performed accurately, if can be performed atall. Therefore, another embodiment of the present invention furtherincludes a pair of auxiliary parking meters 10 a installed respectivelyat two opposite end edges of the parking spaces 321 and 323corresponding to the parking meter 10 (as shown in FIG. 3). Eachauxiliary parking meter 10 a includes at least one camera and atransmission module. Whenever the parking meter 10 takes an image,referring to FIG. 3, the auxiliary parking meters 10 a are activated atthe same to take images respectively of the license plates at the frontand back of the vehicle 34 parked in the parking space 321. This helpsin license plate recognition and comparison so that accurate andconsistent license plate recognition results can be obtained.

The communication module 18 is electrically connected to the controlcircuit 12 and is configured to communicate with an external device.Preferably, the communication module 18 is a mobile communicationmodule, a sub-1 GHz communication module, a narrow-bandinternet-of-things (NB-IoT) communication module, or a combination ofthe above. The mobile communication module may be based on the 3G,long-term evolution (LTE), 4G, or other mobile communication standards.Preferably, the communication module 18 further includes a securityaccess module (SAM) 181 for encrypting and decrypting the data beingtransmitted, thereby achieving security of data transfer.

The display panel 141 is preferably an electronic paper display.Electronic paper displays feature structural simplicity, lowsusceptibility to damage, clarity in display, and low power consumption;can be clearly read under extreme environmental conditions such as inbright sunlight and poorly lit places; and are also effective in savingelectricity.

A parking fee charging system 50 incorporating the foregoing parkingmeter 10 is disclosed below with reference to FIG. 5. The parking feecharging system 50 includes a management center 52, a plurality ofparking meters 10 as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, and at least one mobiledevice 56. The management center 52, the parking meters 10, and themobile device 56 are signal-connected to one another through a network500. The management center 52 may have a processing unit 521, asettlement unit 523, a guiding unit 525, a database 527, an imageprocessing unit 528, and an automatic parking ticket issuing unit 529,all of which are signal-connected to one another. The processing unit521 controls the operation of the management center 52, performs allsorts of computation, and executes various application programs. Thesettlement unit 523 is in charge of calculating, performing statisticalanalysis on, and managing the parking fees of all the on-street parkingspace in the system and processing remote payments. The database 527stores the parking information of each on-street parking space. Theimage processing unit 528 performs vehicle detection and license platerecognition on parking images uploaded from the parking meters 10. Theautomatic parking ticket issuing unit 529 issues payment notices for, orprompts a parking enforcement officer to go to and issue parking ticketsfor, vehicles whose parking fees are not paid and whose license plateshave been identified.

More specifically, each parking meter 10 is installed beside thecorresponding on-street parking spaces to detect the states of theparking spaces and, when a vehicle is parked in either of the parkingspaces, measure the parking period of the vehicle so that a parking feecan be calculated accordingly. Each parking meter 10 is connected to themanagement center 52 through the network 500 in order to transmit thestates and parking information of the corresponding on-street parkingspaces to the management center 52. The mobile device 56 is providedtherein with an application program 561 and can execute the applicationprogram 561 and connect to the management center 52 through the network500.

After a user parks a vehicle in one of the on-street parking spaces ofthe system, operates the corresponding parking meter 10, and pays aparking fee corresponding to an estimated parking period, the displaypanel 141 of the corresponding parking meter 10 displays anidentification barcode corresponding to the parking information of theparking space so that the user can obtain the parking informationthrough the application program 561 by reading the identificationbarcode with the mobile device 56. The identification barcode ispreferably a two-dimensional barcode or QR code. When the parking timelimit is about to be reached, the management center 52 notifies the userof this through the application program 561 in the mobile device 56 byan electronic means such as by email or a short message, in order forthe user to pay for the next parking period by connecting the mobiledevice 56 to the management center 52 through the application program561 and the network 500 or by other payment methods accepted by thesystem, without having to go to, and make the payment at, the parkingspace. If the user drives the overtime-parked vehicle away from theparking space without paying the required parking fee, the system willissue a notice of parking fee make-up payment to the user according tothe time at which the vehicle entered the parking space, the time atwhich the vehicle left the parking space (both times being detected bythe corresponding parking meter 10), and the result of license platerecognition performed by the system on images taken of the vehicle. Ifthe vehicle owner is already registered as a member of the system anduses a mobile phone that supports the system (e.g., is installed withelectronic payment software for paying parking fees), the system willalso send a payment message to the member's mobile phone. As soon as theuser pays for the next parking period or a payment notice is issued, themanagement center 52 updates the parking information in thecorresponding parking meter 10 by connecting to the correspondingparking meter 10 through the network 500. The parking information mayinclude the number and location of the on-street parking space, thenumber of the corresponding parking meter, the parking period, theparking time limit, the parking fee, and so on.

Preferably, the parking fee charging system 50 further includes aparking ticket issuing device 54, which is connected to the managementcenter 52 through the network 500. When the actual parking period of avehicle exceeds the parking period paid for, i.e., when the parking timelimit is exceeded, the management center 52 is connected to the parkingticket issuing device 54 through the network 500 to prompt a parkingenforcement officer to go to the corresponding parking meter 10 andissue a parking ticket for the overtime-parked vehicle through theparking ticket issuing device 54. If the parking enforcement officerfails to issue the parking ticket at the corresponding parking meter 10within a predetermined time limit, there may be a mechanism throughwhich the management center 52 will perform an automatic parking ticketissuing operation. According to one embodiment of the present invention,the parking ticket issuing device 54 transmits parking ticket issuanceinformation to the management center 52 after issuing a parking ticket,and the management center 52 is subsequently connected to thecorresponding parking meter 10 through the network 500 to update theparking information in the corresponding parking meter 10. In otherembodiments of the present invention, the parking ticket issuing device54 may have the additional or alternative function of connectingdirectly to each parking meter 10 in order to directly update theparking information in any parking meter 10 after issuing acorresponding parking ticket.

Preferably, the management center 52 further includes a guiding unit 525for recording the locations and states of all the on-street parkingspaces in the system according to the state of each on-street parkingspace as transmitted from the corresponding parking meter 10. In oneembodiment of the present invention, the mobile device 56 can connect tothe management center 52 through the application program 561 and thenetwork 500 and display on a map the location and state of eachon-street parking space according to the record of the guiding unit 525.This allows a user to know the location and state of each on-streetparking space via the mobile device 56 and reach the nearest availableon-street parking space rapidly.

Preferably, the mobile device 56 is a mobile phone, a tablet computer, alaptop computer, or a personal digital assistant.

Preferably, a user can use the application program 561 in the mobiledevice 56 to pay a parking fee remotely through a payment center 58(e.g., a bank or a third-party payment center).

The operating method described above of a parking fee charging system issummarized as follows with reference to FIG. 4 in conjunction with FIG.1 and FIG. 5, wherein FIG. 4 is the flowchart of the operating methodaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

The operating method of the present invention starts with a parkingmeter 10 determining whether a parking fee has been paid for acorresponding on-street parking space (step 401). If no parking fee hasbeen paid and no parking ticket has been issued either, or if theparking time limit has been exceeded but no parking ticket has beenissued, the parking meter 10 will activate the detector 161 (step 403).Then, based on the detection result of the detector 161, it isdetermined whether an object exists in the on-street parking space and,if yes, whether the properties of the object are similar to those of avehicle (step 405). To determine whether the properties of the objectare similar to those of a vehicle, the following items may be detected:the distance to the object, the width of the object, and the material ofthe object.

If it is determined in step 405 that no object exists in the on-streetparking space or that an object exists but its properties do not matchthose of a vehicle, step 417 will be performed to reduce the detectionfrequency of the detector 161, thereby reducing the power consumed bythe parking meter, and then the process flow returns to step 401 to forma full cycle. If it is determined, on the other hand, that an objectdoes exist in the on-street parking space and the properties of theobject match those of a vehicle, step 407 will be performed to activatethe cameras 163 in order to obtain images of the on-street parkingspace. Then, in step 409, image recognition and license platerecognition are performed on the images of the on-street parking spaceto determine again whether the object in the on-street parking space isa vehicle, and step 417 will be performed if not. If it is determinedthat the on-street parking space is indeed occupied by a vehicle, theprocess flow goes to step 413, in which either a parking enforcementofficer is prompted to go to the on-street parking space and issue aparking ticket for the vehicle whose parking fee has yet to be paid orwhose paid parking period has expired, or the management center 52issues the parking ticket through the automatic parking ticket issuingunit 529 and sends a payment notice to the vehicle owner through thenetwork; in either case, the parking information in the parking meterwill be updated after the parking ticket is issued (step 415). Lastly,step 417 is performed to reduce the detection frequency and therebyreduce power consumption by the parking meter, and then the process flowgoes back to step 401 to complete a full cycle.

A parking fee charging system based on the parking meter disclosedherein and the operating method of the system are such that only when avehicle does exist in a parking space and is not paid for or has beenparked longer than the paid parking period will a parking enforcementofficer be prompted to issue a parking ticket or will the system issuethe parking ticket directly. Thus, not only is the accuracy of systemoperation ensured, but also the parking enforcement officer is sparedthe trouble of unnecessary trips to and from the parking meters.Moreover, as useless detection is minimized and unnecessarycommunication through the communication module is reduced, powerconsumption by the parking meters will be substantially lowered to keepthe parking meters (which may be powered by rechargeable ornon-rechargeable batteries) at a working battery level for as long aspossible.

The embodiments described above serve only as examples and are notintended to be restrictive of the scope of the present invention. Allequivalent changes and modifications made according to the shapes,structures, features, methods, and spirit disclosed in the appendedclaims should fall within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An operating method of a parking fee chargingsystem, wherein the parking fee charging system uses at least oneparking meter to charge parking fees for at least one on-street parkingspace, the operating method comprising the steps of: determining whethera parking fee has been paid for the on-street parking space, and if not,activating a detector of the parking meter; determining whether anobject exists in the on-street parking space and whether the object, ifexisting, is a vehicle, according to a detection result of the detector,and if it is determined that an object exists in the on-street parkingspace and the object is a vehicle, activating a camera of the parkingmeter in order to obtain an image of the on-street parking space;performing image and license plate recognition to determine againwhether the object existing in the on-street parking space is a vehicle,and if yes, either prompting a parking enforcement officer to go to theon-street parking space to issue a parking ticket or issuing the parkingticket automatically by a management center; updating the parking meterafter the parking ticket is issued; and reducing a detection frequencyof the detector, and returning to the step of determining whether aparking fee has been paid for the on-street parking space to complete afull cycle.
 2. The operating method of the parking fee charging systemas claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step, to be performed whenthe step of determining whether a parking fee has been paid for theon-street parking space produces a positive determination result andbefore the subsequent steps are performed, and when the step ofdetermining whether an object exists in the on-street parking space andwhether the object, if existing, is a vehicle produces a negativedetermination result and before the subsequent steps are performed, andwhen the step of performing image and license plate recognition todetermine again whether the object existing in the on-street parkingspace is a vehicle produces a negative determination result and beforethe subsequent steps are performed, of reducing the detection frequencyof the detector.
 3. The operating method of the parking fee chargingsystem as claimed in claim 1, wherein said determining again whether theobject existing in the on-street parking space is a vehicle is carriedout by detecting a distance to the object and a width and a material ofthe object and determining whether the detected properties of the objectare similar to properties of a vehicle.